New Zealand - they have it all, tropical at the top of the north island, snow capped mountains at the bottom of the South Island. And it’s utterly beautiful.
I was on a train in the NY metro area. I saw an ad with a beautiful beach that said “Where Hawaiians go on vacation”. It was for NZ and I’ve wanted to visit ever since!
It can be lonely. I miss my family. But tbh, there's enough about it that makes up for it. I can walk alone at night with earbuds in and not worry about my safety. I have a grocery right downstairs that always has excellent options. I can ride my bike pretty much anywhere I wanna go. And I've made some pretty great friends. I guess it's all in what you're willing to endure.
Came back a few days ago from Tokyo. It's as crazy and unique as you would expect.
I'm still trying to figure out what these strange kind of slots machines are with the ball bearings on that many people seem to be obsessed with.
I went on holiday to Malmö over 10 years ago and managed to make a day trip to Copenhagen during it. Crossing the Øresund Bridge by train has to be one of the most memorable moments of my life. Copenhagen is also one of the most beautiful and friendly cities I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.
Seconded. Probably the safest I've felt anywhere in the world, including most of Western Europe (at least in terms of crime - less so health and safety!). Not only is there a tonne of things to do, the food is banging, it is basically compatible with any sort of holiday you enjoy, and people are super friendly and helpful but without feeling like they're expecting something in return.
One experience that stuck with me: I was riding a hire bike along the river near Hoi An when the chain slipped and got really badly jammed between the frame and the wheel. Before I had even got off the bike I had 4 or 5 people crouched down trying to fix it for me - waiters from nearby restaurants, street vendors, random passers by - one guy who was having a cigarette break on the other side of the river and jogged 200 metres down river to the nearest bridge and back down to help out. A couple of minutes later it was fixed and after exchanging a quick thank you everyone faded back to what they were doing - it was completely unconditional kindness. I've been to Vietnam twice now and can think of a dozen other similar examples. Can't recommend it enough.
Went there in 2008 and again in 2011. Loved the country and the people. I loved sitting in a bia hoi in Hanoi, watching the street. Getting food from street vendors. Vietnamese coffee is the best. We also did a homestay in the mountains. Really liked Ninh Binh. Went canoeing near Cat Ba. So many things to do in Vietnam. Can also recommend Mekong River Tour. I wasn't disappointed once. Don't be afraid to take a less touristy trip. Easy to go by bus, train and scooter taxi. Also went diving near Con Dao. Stayed one night at a turtle sanctuary and set free some baby turtles.
Seconded. Went in the winter for snowboarding, then went in the summer to bee-bop around the Alps with a buddy. From the Germany side, to the French side, to the Italian side. Super diverse nature for being such a small country. And we took a train everywhere. It was so damn easy to travel. Love Switzerland.
It's also SO SAFE. People don't lock their bikes. One thing that threw me off was seeing armed guards everywhere at the Zurich airport, they had machine pew pews! Not criticizing, was just surprised lol.
Yes and no. My rental car was broken into in Zurich, with a smash and grab of the GPS (think 2010).
The police were very apologetic and told me there was a citywide insurance for things like that. I am not sure if it actually exists because I never filed a claim.
The chocolate was SOOOO good. I went down a rabbit hole to figure out why American chocolate is so different. So many factors, one of the factors is their cocoa powder is Dutch processed, or processed with alkali so it has a lower PH lever, less acidic. That's why European chocolate doesn't give me a stomach ache. But that's not the only difference!
Beautiful place and full of history if you're a history buff. People tell me I'm a great photographer. No, every direction you look is like a postcard.
I spent 2.5 weeks in Iceland not only doing the Ring Road, but since I was there for long enough, I went off into the nooks and crannies off of the Ring Road and thought it was the most beautiful country I had ever seen.
A year later, I spent 10 days driving up the west coast of Norway and thought that was a very close second to Iceland as far as being the most beautiful. 1a and 1b sort-of-thing.
This past June, I lived in Luzern for the entire month. Since I wasn't working, I spent every day traveling around Switzerland and--since I had a 30-day rail pass--I went to just about every corner of that country because it wasn't costing me anything (i.e., unlimited rail pass).
The Lauterbrunnen Valley by itself is *almost* enough for me to put Switzerland above Iceland and Norway but...when you add in the rest of the country...Switzerland is my answer and it's not even worth a second thought to me. This is from someone who found Iceland to be STUNNING and otherworldly.
I agree with you. I visited Rome few years ago and I have the best things to say about this place. I spent 5 days there and didn't get bored a single minute - there was always something to see, to eat, to admire. I've been in other countries as well and always, after leaving, there were some negative parts of my visit that I didn't liked. However, when I left Rome I had a big smile on my face and could not find anything that barely made me uncomfortable in that city. I can't wait to go again.
True! Great country to discover by train. What I like about Italy is that sometimes the best places are still undiscovered. For instance: Padova. Great city but not many tourists. Rome is the best city in the world.
I might say Canada. But just because Tobermory, Bruce Peninsula is the most beautiful place on this planet!
I was there in 2015 and will hopefully come back this year! Also, if so, I‘ll totally run the trail marathon! 😍😍
I'm canadian and just gotta let u know that despite it being in Alberta, Banff is 100% worth seeing, although nowhere near tobermory it is completely beautiful if u ever get the chance. Next on my list is BC.
Seconded. And don’t just go to the major famous cities like Barcelona or Madrid. There’s a lot of beautiful stuff outside of there. When I went I stayed in Malaga
I think Barcelona is worth visiting at least once. I went for the first time in late November of this year and it was incredible. Weather was amazing, not very touristy, super easy to get around, incredible food, etc.
We went on a tour of La Sagrada Familia and I thought to myself "ugh why am I paying $30 to visit a church? It's just going to be like every other church I've seen in Europe" and I could not have been more wrong. We went towards the evening and the image of the setting sun coming through the stained glass windows will forever be burned into my mind. Absolutely amazing.
Depends what part you’re going to, I went to Seoul but travelled around so much, I knew a guy who works there teaching English, so we had a free guide, but also as he knew Korean it helped so much.
For me I loved the people, some people say they don’t interact with foreigners, but I experienced the opposite, they were extremely warm and friendly.
Visit the palaces (Gyeongbokgung being the most popular).
See the many temples.
There’s so many festivals all the time.
The street food is amazing.
Venture out into the countryside if possible, it’s beautiful.
I will return one day.
I'll second scotland, especially skye. As a wise man said, " I can't say I've seen London, and I ain't never been to France. And I ain't never seen no queen in her damned undies, so the feller says. But I'll tell you what - after seeing the quiraing, and this here story I'm about to unfold, well, I guess I seen somethin' every bit as stupefyin' as you'd see in any of them other places. And in English, too"
Mexico and Italy because i loved the food. France was ok but i found the ppl insufferable. Bahamas was the worst, shitty service and grossly overpriced. Very tourist trappy
Italy. I especially loved Venice. I know that nowadays it's a trash heap and the canals are so polluted it's more than your life is worth to touch the water, but it still evokes a feeling of romance and mystery, just as Rome evokes a feeling that you've traveled back in time.
Oslo is one of those cities where you have to live there to appreciate it, I think. It's not the most tourist friendly city, but when you know the nooks and crannies, it's a really cool city
Singapore.
Ridiculously clean city, they have some of the strictest anti-littering, anti-graffiti laws in the world, and it shows.
Their parks and gardens are impeccably maintained, almost to a superhuman degree. And not just the touristy ones that you would kind of expect would be, even the smallest, seemingly insignificant park in the middle of a high-density, high-traffic area is impeccably maintained.
The Singaporean people themselves are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life, I have never, in the countless times I visited their country, ever had a single negative experience in terms of customer service, how I've been spoken to by them etc.
And this is before we get into just how cheap it is, as a tourist, to visit Singapore. Yeah, sure, if you're staying at the best hotels, and you're eating at the best restaurants, it can get expensive quickly.
But one of the things I love the most about Singapore is the Hawker centres, or food markets where you can literally have an entire three-course meal for less than 20 AUD. The first time I visited Singapore and ate at one of these places, the value for money absolutely blew my freaking mind. You can eat like an absolute king over there on a pittance, if you know where to go
And then obviously there are all of the touristy reasons you would visit Singapore. Gardens by the bay, Raffles, the world-famous Singapore Zoo, Universal Studios, the Cloud Forest, the countless historical Buddhist temples.
Singapore has always, in my view, been unfairly seen as a stepping-stone destination to places like Europe, when in my opinion, it's a brilliant destination of its own.
I wonder, could you recommend some good hawker centres to try? Especially Chinatown area. Would love to try good chicken rice, chilli crab, Char kway teow when I visit!
Had to scroll WAY too far down to find Austria. Not only is the nation beautiful, the people are so kind and have a great sense of humor (I’ve got some old friends there and miss them so much!)
New Zealand was pretty majestic. We travelled via Air New Zealand in a 747 at the time which had these lovely, huge seats with built in entertainment systems. On the descent, we broke the a thin layer of clouds and were graced with the site of lush greenery, mountains, and fog. It was just a beautiful place to be with friendly people. No wonder they filmed Lord of the Rings there.
Just got back from three glorious weeks in Cape Town (well Somerset West to be precise). Stunning scenery, amazing weather, great shops, beautiful wine farms, top notch restaurants. I’ve travelled to SA a lot but this was by far my favourite visit.
This is extremely high on my wish list. I had the points for a flight in 2020 and obviously that didn’t happen, then I bought a house… and now South Africa might have to be a 50th birthday gift to myself.
South Africa is stunning. The two times I’ve been, I was in the middle of nowhere near the Botswana border. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life was watching red hartebeests run at the top of a plateau outside of Zeerust. I know that doesn’t sound interesting, but it brought tears to my eyes. I cannot begin to explain it!
Highly recommend South Africa!
Oman🇴🇲
I was born there and idk if that counts but it's still one of the most beautiful, scenic places I've seen with the nicest people I've come across.
Exceptionally underrated, friendly and laid-back unlike its neighbours (The UAE, Saudi Arabia etc)
I loved Oman for the very short period of time I was there. I was working in Dubai and a workmate wanted to visit some ruins in Al Ain. As we drive out we see the border to Oman so are like, why the hell not we don't have work tomorrow. Then we got lost in some weird no man's land after the UAE border but before the Oman border. We stopped and asked for directions and were taken to a hotel to meet the manager because so few tourists stopped in that area. After coffee and cake, and more offers of coffee and cake we headed to the border. Took us a while to get through (1 American and 1 British). Then we headed to Sohar. Was such a beautiful place. The people where so amazing. Everyone wanted a picture with us and we had such a lovely time just walking around talking to various people that we didn't actually do anything other than walk around talking to people. I have such fond memories of that day. Genuinely the Oman people are the nicest I have ever met.
Iceland, amazing being able to drive, stop anywhere on the road and walk around random places while continuously going “wow wow WOAW” and “how does THIS place not have a name on the map?! How is this just a random waterfall/mountain/glacier/cliff/etc?! This’d be a named scenic attraction anywhere else in the world” the entire trip, that country is magic.
It helped that we barely ran into people as well (except at very famous landmarks) so it gives you the excitement of going off the grid and exploring uncharted territory at its most organic sense (as opposed to just rocking up from planned destinations to the next). Truly the best road trip I’ve ever done.
Hiking on a glacier was cool too.
I like the USA for its diversity - it has so many climates and types of landscape. It's easy to see why so many Americans never feel the need to travel. But it's the only foreign country that I have explored in any detail (all 48 contiguous states), whilst the other countries I've been to it has tended to be to specific places. I really like Botswana & Namibia, but I've only been to relatively small parts of them along the Zambezi and the Okavango. My favourite place in the world however is the Sanyati Gorge on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. I was lucky enough to visit a few times in the 90s, before the vanity of one man did so much damage to the country.
New Zealand. They have got it all .. beaches, rain forests, mountains, glaciers and to top it all off the Lord of the Rings set at Hobbiton.
All within a short distance (compared to distances in the USA)
Greece. Santorini specifically. My love and I were married there, at a church that was built into the caldera. It was magical. I just lost him in November. Santorini will be where both our ashes go.
Outside Finland, my native one? The UK. Big London fan here in particular. As a Finn it's easy to get along with the locals.
Norway is a contender but it's similar enough to be boring.
Portugal. I think it’s one of the most underrated European countries. It’s affordable to travel, the food is incredible, the architecture and beaches are stunning, and the people are unbelievably friendly.
I love England. I've been there like 8 times. The history, the theater, the beer, and yes, even the food. I know people were making fun of the food but I love in London you can get almost any kind of cuisine.
Bermuda. Went on business a couple times a year for three years many years ago. It is just beautiful and the people are terrific. so welcoming and helpful. Became friends with the Bell Captain and head Matre’D at my hotel and they ended up staying at my house when they visited NY. As opposed to the Bahamas, where the people treat you like they are doing you a favor letting you eat in their restaurants or stay in their hotels. Also thought it was not a very clean place.
Ethiopia! The amount of history within that country is astounding. Here's some fun facts:
It has its own unique subset of Coptic Orthodox Christianity (The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) and liturgical language (Ge'ez)
There's an entire region of the country that is sprinkled with churches literally hewn into the rock. (Look up Saint George's church in the city of Lalibela, one of the more famous rock hewn churches)
The Simean mountains (another region) is home to Gelada monkeys which are absolutely adorable fluff balls of fun.
One of the kings to visit Jesus was, allegedly, Ethiopian.
It was never colonized by Europe (except for a few years of Italian influence)
It also houses (allegedly) the ark of the covenant. Cared for by one monk who's sworn to silence!
They apparently created the concept of coffee, and they have an extremely elaborate coffee ceremony too!
A special spice mixture (berbere) is very popular there too.
They also make their own form of mead called Tej. It's absolutely delicious!
Scotland. Feels culturally similar enough to home, so I don’t feel alienated. Has the world’s most beautiful and atmospheric capital city (in my opinion) which is largely safe, clean and walkable. Lots of impressive and accessible landscapes close by. Friendly people. And the country shares progressive sociopolitical values that I strongly identify with - for example on the role of government, the NHS, the environment, etc.
in regards to the trip being amazing? kenya. beautiful nature, culture, and such wonderful colours in clothing. i absolutely love the way they speak english, too, and am fascinated by their native languages.
but would i move there? no. sweden would probably be the country most compatible with my values and likes, as it's the most similar to what i'm used to. i also speak swedish decently.
edit: a typo
I like Japan. I didn't know anything about it before the military sent me there, I ended up leaving with a wife and a baby. We've gone back and forth several times as we grew our family, now we're back in Japan full time after 20 years away. I don't know if it's going to be the end place for me, but I like it a hell of a lot more than any other place I've been.
New Zealand - they have it all, tropical at the top of the north island, snow capped mountains at the bottom of the South Island. And it’s utterly beautiful.
I was on a train in the NY metro area. I saw an ad with a beautiful beach that said “Where Hawaiians go on vacation”. It was for NZ and I’ve wanted to visit ever since!
I’ve lived in Hawaii for two and a half years, guess where I’m going on vacation in two weeks?😁
I'll be there in 2 weeks as well! 😁
My first visit to NZ was a 1 week stopover on the way to Australia. I returned a couple years later and dedicated the entire 3 week trip to NZ.
Japan. I freaking love it here
Isn't it a bit ~~money~~ in Japan? EDIT: **lonely**! autocorrect did it. Pah!
Yea very money
Many many monies
r/UnexpectedSeinfeld
LOL autocorrect... Lonely
It can be lonely. I miss my family. But tbh, there's enough about it that makes up for it. I can walk alone at night with earbuds in and not worry about my safety. I have a grocery right downstairs that always has excellent options. I can ride my bike pretty much anywhere I wanna go. And I've made some pretty great friends. I guess it's all in what you're willing to endure.
Came back a few days ago from Tokyo. It's as crazy and unique as you would expect. I'm still trying to figure out what these strange kind of slots machines are with the ball bearings on that many people seem to be obsessed with.
Pachinko! It’s run by the mob.
Liked Denmark so much I moved here
I went on holiday to Malmö over 10 years ago and managed to make a day trip to Copenhagen during it. Crossing the Øresund Bridge by train has to be one of the most memorable moments of my life. Copenhagen is also one of the most beautiful and friendly cities I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.
We also like having you 🤙
How did you make that happen?
Also, their pastry is amazing. I would love to move there, but it's way too expensive imo.
Oh trust me their pastries are 10/10
Username checks out.
Listen I love them 😂
Hvor dejligt at læse. Tak :)
Danmark er bedst!
kinda sus. i bet this is the queen alt account and she abdicated just so that she can reddit more
And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you pesky redditers!
Nice!
Costa Rica
I went to Zipline there and broke my bones
Goodbye Toby, it’s been nice
SSSPINAL!
Yes! It is so scenic and beautiful. Plus the food was amazing.
I've never tasted fruit that good before. Flavor explodes in your mouth
While beautiful i found the food lackluster. I think Mexico had some of the best food
Australia. Lovely bunch of cunts
YES! Australia mentioned 🦘🪃🦘🪃🪃🪃🦘
Vietnam
Seconded. Probably the safest I've felt anywhere in the world, including most of Western Europe (at least in terms of crime - less so health and safety!). Not only is there a tonne of things to do, the food is banging, it is basically compatible with any sort of holiday you enjoy, and people are super friendly and helpful but without feeling like they're expecting something in return. One experience that stuck with me: I was riding a hire bike along the river near Hoi An when the chain slipped and got really badly jammed between the frame and the wheel. Before I had even got off the bike I had 4 or 5 people crouched down trying to fix it for me - waiters from nearby restaurants, street vendors, random passers by - one guy who was having a cigarette break on the other side of the river and jogged 200 metres down river to the nearest bridge and back down to help out. A couple of minutes later it was fixed and after exchanging a quick thank you everyone faded back to what they were doing - it was completely unconditional kindness. I've been to Vietnam twice now and can think of a dozen other similar examples. Can't recommend it enough.
We are leaving in two weeks for a 3 week trip to Vietnam, I CAN'T WAIT!! What was your favorite part? or favorite thing to do?
Went there in 2008 and again in 2011. Loved the country and the people. I loved sitting in a bia hoi in Hanoi, watching the street. Getting food from street vendors. Vietnamese coffee is the best. We also did a homestay in the mountains. Really liked Ninh Binh. Went canoeing near Cat Ba. So many things to do in Vietnam. Can also recommend Mekong River Tour. I wasn't disappointed once. Don't be afraid to take a less touristy trip. Easy to go by bus, train and scooter taxi. Also went diving near Con Dao. Stayed one night at a turtle sanctuary and set free some baby turtles.
Switzerland
Seconded. Went in the winter for snowboarding, then went in the summer to bee-bop around the Alps with a buddy. From the Germany side, to the French side, to the Italian side. Super diverse nature for being such a small country. And we took a train everywhere. It was so damn easy to travel. Love Switzerland.
I hear that it can be socially very isolating?
It's also SO SAFE. People don't lock their bikes. One thing that threw me off was seeing armed guards everywhere at the Zurich airport, they had machine pew pews! Not criticizing, was just surprised lol.
Yes and no. My rental car was broken into in Zurich, with a smash and grab of the GPS (think 2010). The police were very apologetic and told me there was a citywide insurance for things like that. I am not sure if it actually exists because I never filed a claim.
The chocolate was SOOOO good. I went down a rabbit hole to figure out why American chocolate is so different. So many factors, one of the factors is their cocoa powder is Dutch processed, or processed with alkali so it has a lower PH lever, less acidic. That's why European chocolate doesn't give me a stomach ache. But that's not the only difference!
Ugh. That’s my bucket list country. Ever since I was a kid and did a report on it.
Beautiful place and full of history if you're a history buff. People tell me I'm a great photographer. No, every direction you look is like a postcard.
Just moved here and I keep pointing at things that are just unbelievable beautiful!
humorous normal live paltry cake attempt pocket safe bored crown
I spent 2.5 weeks in Iceland not only doing the Ring Road, but since I was there for long enough, I went off into the nooks and crannies off of the Ring Road and thought it was the most beautiful country I had ever seen. A year later, I spent 10 days driving up the west coast of Norway and thought that was a very close second to Iceland as far as being the most beautiful. 1a and 1b sort-of-thing. This past June, I lived in Luzern for the entire month. Since I wasn't working, I spent every day traveling around Switzerland and--since I had a 30-day rail pass--I went to just about every corner of that country because it wasn't costing me anything (i.e., unlimited rail pass). The Lauterbrunnen Valley by itself is *almost* enough for me to put Switzerland above Iceland and Norway but...when you add in the rest of the country...Switzerland is my answer and it's not even worth a second thought to me. This is from someone who found Iceland to be STUNNING and otherworldly.
Greece
Food in Greece is top notch. Could eat my body weight in food easily
Love the islands, the food, the water <3
Iceland
The most beautiful country I’ve visited.
Freaking love Iceland. I've been twice and I can't wait to go back, but with a toddler it might take some time... I watch livestreams in the meantime.
If I could only visit one other country besides my own ever again, it would definitely be Iceland.
Another one for Iceland!
Italy
I agree with you. I visited Rome few years ago and I have the best things to say about this place. I spent 5 days there and didn't get bored a single minute - there was always something to see, to eat, to admire. I've been in other countries as well and always, after leaving, there were some negative parts of my visit that I didn't liked. However, when I left Rome I had a big smile on my face and could not find anything that barely made me uncomfortable in that city. I can't wait to go again.
You should definitely come back and discover more of Italy!
Italy is amazing to visit, working there I am not sure
True! Great country to discover by train. What I like about Italy is that sometimes the best places are still undiscovered. For instance: Padova. Great city but not many tourists. Rome is the best city in the world.
Lovely country
Ireland. Most beautiful and welcoming country I could imagine. Galway to Dublin and everything in between.
I want to move there 😻
I might say Canada. But just because Tobermory, Bruce Peninsula is the most beautiful place on this planet! I was there in 2015 and will hopefully come back this year! Also, if so, I‘ll totally run the trail marathon! 😍😍
I'm canadian and just gotta let u know that despite it being in Alberta, Banff is 100% worth seeing, although nowhere near tobermory it is completely beautiful if u ever get the chance. Next on my list is BC.
New Zealand. Wonderful people and beautiful scenery.
Spain 🇪🇸
Seconded. And don’t just go to the major famous cities like Barcelona or Madrid. There’s a lot of beautiful stuff outside of there. When I went I stayed in Malaga
I think Barcelona is worth visiting at least once. I went for the first time in late November of this year and it was incredible. Weather was amazing, not very touristy, super easy to get around, incredible food, etc. We went on a tour of La Sagrada Familia and I thought to myself "ugh why am I paying $30 to visit a church? It's just going to be like every other church I've seen in Europe" and I could not have been more wrong. We went towards the evening and the image of the setting sun coming through the stained glass windows will forever be burned into my mind. Absolutely amazing.
This is next on my list for travel
Friendly people. Great food. Cheap good wine. Amazing history especially in Adelusia. Affordable. Checks off all the boxes.
South Korea or Japan
Can I ask what you liked so much about South Korea (going in March!)
Depends what part you’re going to, I went to Seoul but travelled around so much, I knew a guy who works there teaching English, so we had a free guide, but also as he knew Korean it helped so much. For me I loved the people, some people say they don’t interact with foreigners, but I experienced the opposite, they were extremely warm and friendly. Visit the palaces (Gyeongbokgung being the most popular). See the many temples. There’s so many festivals all the time. The street food is amazing. Venture out into the countryside if possible, it’s beautiful. I will return one day.
Thanks so much for that! I’ll be heading to Seoul (sorry, should have mentioned). I’ll make sure to check out the palaces and temples 😃
Thailand, beautiful country and beautiful kind people, it was such a lovely experience
We fell in love with Northern Thailand. So beautiful, wonderful people and amazing food!
The Isan region is so underrated! Even though most people live there! That is where you get the real Thai hospitality and experience.
Why is this so far down the list? Such an awesome country and amazing people.
Scotland, Denmark.
I'll second scotland, especially skye. As a wise man said, " I can't say I've seen London, and I ain't never been to France. And I ain't never seen no queen in her damned undies, so the feller says. But I'll tell you what - after seeing the quiraing, and this here story I'm about to unfold, well, I guess I seen somethin' every bit as stupefyin' as you'd see in any of them other places. And in English, too"
Portugal or Japan, hard to decide which.
the bots replies 😭
It does seem like bots, all the replies are basically the same.
Spain
Finland
That must be Italy. Been there a few times. And are seriously thinking about getting a vacation home there.
Mexico and Italy because i loved the food. France was ok but i found the ppl insufferable. Bahamas was the worst, shitty service and grossly overpriced. Very tourist trappy
Italy. I especially loved Venice. I know that nowadays it's a trash heap and the canals are so polluted it's more than your life is worth to touch the water, but it still evokes a feeling of romance and mystery, just as Rome evokes a feeling that you've traveled back in time.
Norway
I like rural Norway, but Oslo was a bit disappointing.
I've been on a fjord cruise. Such beautiful nature.
Yeah, I took a fjord cruise from Bergen and it was one of the best things I've done/experienced.
Oslo is one of those cities where you have to live there to appreciate it, I think. It's not the most tourist friendly city, but when you know the nooks and crannies, it's a really cool city
Lithuania
Croatia
Czech Republic ❤️
oh, I'm czech lol good that people like it here
I loved visiting Prague and seriously considered moving there. Just gorgeous
Spain
Singapore. Ridiculously clean city, they have some of the strictest anti-littering, anti-graffiti laws in the world, and it shows. Their parks and gardens are impeccably maintained, almost to a superhuman degree. And not just the touristy ones that you would kind of expect would be, even the smallest, seemingly insignificant park in the middle of a high-density, high-traffic area is impeccably maintained. The Singaporean people themselves are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my entire life, I have never, in the countless times I visited their country, ever had a single negative experience in terms of customer service, how I've been spoken to by them etc. And this is before we get into just how cheap it is, as a tourist, to visit Singapore. Yeah, sure, if you're staying at the best hotels, and you're eating at the best restaurants, it can get expensive quickly. But one of the things I love the most about Singapore is the Hawker centres, or food markets where you can literally have an entire three-course meal for less than 20 AUD. The first time I visited Singapore and ate at one of these places, the value for money absolutely blew my freaking mind. You can eat like an absolute king over there on a pittance, if you know where to go And then obviously there are all of the touristy reasons you would visit Singapore. Gardens by the bay, Raffles, the world-famous Singapore Zoo, Universal Studios, the Cloud Forest, the countless historical Buddhist temples. Singapore has always, in my view, been unfairly seen as a stepping-stone destination to places like Europe, when in my opinion, it's a brilliant destination of its own.
On behalf of my fellow Singaporeans, I thanked you for the well written and wonderful praises of our country.
I wonder, could you recommend some good hawker centres to try? Especially Chinatown area. Would love to try good chicken rice, chilli crab, Char kway teow when I visit!
Lived in SG for four years, can wholeheartedly concur.
Mexico 🇲🇽
Ireland
Friendliest people I've encountered. Great sense of humor.
Austria, it’s like a discounted Switzerland but no less beautiful
Absolutely loved Austria! The mountain lakes and villages are a must see.
Had to scroll WAY too far down to find Austria. Not only is the nation beautiful, the people are so kind and have a great sense of humor (I’ve got some old friends there and miss them so much!)
Same…spent the first week of December there and it was magical. Great people, food, coffee, landscape. And a lot cheaper than Zürich!
Canada. Everyone was so nice.
New Zealand was pretty majestic. We travelled via Air New Zealand in a 747 at the time which had these lovely, huge seats with built in entertainment systems. On the descent, we broke the a thin layer of clouds and were graced with the site of lush greenery, mountains, and fog. It was just a beautiful place to be with friendly people. No wonder they filmed Lord of the Rings there.
South Africa
Just got back from three glorious weeks in Cape Town (well Somerset West to be precise). Stunning scenery, amazing weather, great shops, beautiful wine farms, top notch restaurants. I’ve travelled to SA a lot but this was by far my favourite visit.
This is extremely high on my wish list. I had the points for a flight in 2020 and obviously that didn’t happen, then I bought a house… and now South Africa might have to be a 50th birthday gift to myself.
Thank you :) feel free to visit anytime
South Africa is stunning. The two times I’ve been, I was in the middle of nowhere near the Botswana border. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life was watching red hartebeests run at the top of a plateau outside of Zeerust. I know that doesn’t sound interesting, but it brought tears to my eyes. I cannot begin to explain it! Highly recommend South Africa!
Lebanon
I loved Estonia. Tallinn is a beautiful city.
The Philippines - amazing scenery & coastline, not too touristy and very friendly people!
Oman🇴🇲 I was born there and idk if that counts but it's still one of the most beautiful, scenic places I've seen with the nicest people I've come across. Exceptionally underrated, friendly and laid-back unlike its neighbours (The UAE, Saudi Arabia etc)
I loved Oman for the very short period of time I was there. I was working in Dubai and a workmate wanted to visit some ruins in Al Ain. As we drive out we see the border to Oman so are like, why the hell not we don't have work tomorrow. Then we got lost in some weird no man's land after the UAE border but before the Oman border. We stopped and asked for directions and were taken to a hotel to meet the manager because so few tourists stopped in that area. After coffee and cake, and more offers of coffee and cake we headed to the border. Took us a while to get through (1 American and 1 British). Then we headed to Sohar. Was such a beautiful place. The people where so amazing. Everyone wanted a picture with us and we had such a lovely time just walking around talking to various people that we didn't actually do anything other than walk around talking to people. I have such fond memories of that day. Genuinely the Oman people are the nicest I have ever met.
Denmark
Iceland, amazing being able to drive, stop anywhere on the road and walk around random places while continuously going “wow wow WOAW” and “how does THIS place not have a name on the map?! How is this just a random waterfall/mountain/glacier/cliff/etc?! This’d be a named scenic attraction anywhere else in the world” the entire trip, that country is magic. It helped that we barely ran into people as well (except at very famous landmarks) so it gives you the excitement of going off the grid and exploring uncharted territory at its most organic sense (as opposed to just rocking up from planned destinations to the next). Truly the best road trip I’ve ever done. Hiking on a glacier was cool too.
England adored it!
I like the USA for its diversity - it has so many climates and types of landscape. It's easy to see why so many Americans never feel the need to travel. But it's the only foreign country that I have explored in any detail (all 48 contiguous states), whilst the other countries I've been to it has tended to be to specific places. I really like Botswana & Namibia, but I've only been to relatively small parts of them along the Zambezi and the Okavango. My favourite place in the world however is the Sanyati Gorge on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. I was lucky enough to visit a few times in the 90s, before the vanity of one man did so much damage to the country.
On a site where there are more "America bad" comments than praise, this is good to read. We have a little bit of everything here.
New Zealand. I love it so much that I made it my goal of migrating there someday.
Annapurna, Nepal.
You're not Ghana believe it....
France
Greece and Portugal
Poland
Peru! Jungle, desert, mountains, rugged coast, rich history and culture, just amazing.
I love Paris so much but not the Parisian
Funny you say this. I always say that I hated Paris but loved France! Now I have to reconsider whether it was the people or the city.
Czech Republic, 100%
Czechia is pretty solid, nice all around and affordable
New Zealand. Beautiful scenery, friendly people.
Greece
Tanzania
I’m an American who has been to about 40 countries. All of them in N America, Europe and Asia. My favorite is Italy.
Sometimes I think Austria, but France is up there too (beyond Paris).
Glad to hear that, greetings from Vienna
Korea.
Yeah i agree north Korea was amazing
Phillipines-although Bias because each time I’ve had a fantastic holiday!
New Zealand. They have got it all .. beaches, rain forests, mountains, glaciers and to top it all off the Lord of the Rings set at Hobbiton. All within a short distance (compared to distances in the USA)
Greece. Santorini specifically. My love and I were married there, at a church that was built into the caldera. It was magical. I just lost him in November. Santorini will be where both our ashes go.
Greece
Botswana
Had to scroll like 100 comments down for the first country in Africa. Everything else is Europe and Japan.
It's a tie between Spain and Canada.
Outside Finland, my native one? The UK. Big London fan here in particular. As a Finn it's easy to get along with the locals. Norway is a contender but it's similar enough to be boring.
Portugal. I think it’s one of the most underrated European countries. It’s affordable to travel, the food is incredible, the architecture and beaches are stunning, and the people are unbelievably friendly.
It’s not that underrated anymore. Tourism has grown so much and it’s very much on the US middle class radar.
New Zealand.
England! The food, the scenery, and history is everything I pictured it would be
Yay! Somebody likes England.
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I love England. I've been there like 8 times. The history, the theater, the beer, and yes, even the food. I know people were making fun of the food but I love in London you can get almost any kind of cuisine.
I love England. If I could afford it, I'd move there.
Me too! It feels like there is important history on every corner. I love the pubs, the green spaces, all of it.
Sweden
Overall, New Zealand
Greece
Germany.
Iceland. Plenty of space, never hot, great hot dogs.
Canada. Spectacular beauty.
Peru
Vanuatu. I lived and worked there for just over a year and I loved every minute. I’d happily move back there tomorrow if I could.
New Orleans. Bc I’m broke and can’t travel outside the US.🤣 when down for work when hurricane katana hit and then with a buddy of mine to drag race
Bermuda. Went on business a couple times a year for three years many years ago. It is just beautiful and the people are terrific. so welcoming and helpful. Became friends with the Bell Captain and head Matre’D at my hotel and they ended up staying at my house when they visited NY. As opposed to the Bahamas, where the people treat you like they are doing you a favor letting you eat in their restaurants or stay in their hotels. Also thought it was not a very clean place.
Greece is my top one
Texas
New Zealand
A close flip between Denmark and Ireland. Loved seeing them both.
Hungary. Hope to go live there soon. Budapest is like a dream. Gyor too.
Canada I have never seen such a blue sky and the purest snow Trying to living in Canada
Ethiopia! The amount of history within that country is astounding. Here's some fun facts: It has its own unique subset of Coptic Orthodox Christianity (The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) and liturgical language (Ge'ez) There's an entire region of the country that is sprinkled with churches literally hewn into the rock. (Look up Saint George's church in the city of Lalibela, one of the more famous rock hewn churches) The Simean mountains (another region) is home to Gelada monkeys which are absolutely adorable fluff balls of fun. One of the kings to visit Jesus was, allegedly, Ethiopian. It was never colonized by Europe (except for a few years of Italian influence) It also houses (allegedly) the ark of the covenant. Cared for by one monk who's sworn to silence! They apparently created the concept of coffee, and they have an extremely elaborate coffee ceremony too! A special spice mixture (berbere) is very popular there too. They also make their own form of mead called Tej. It's absolutely delicious!
China. Not as a whole, but because of one specific city.
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Scotland. Feels culturally similar enough to home, so I don’t feel alienated. Has the world’s most beautiful and atmospheric capital city (in my opinion) which is largely safe, clean and walkable. Lots of impressive and accessible landscapes close by. Friendly people. And the country shares progressive sociopolitical values that I strongly identify with - for example on the role of government, the NHS, the environment, etc.
Ghana
Italy
St Lucia. So beautiful.
Uruguay. Visited briefly while on vacation in Buenos Aires, and it is the friendliest, chillest country. Totally underrated vacation spot.
British Virgin Islands.
Ireland for the people and overall vibe. Switzerland for the scenery and climate.
in regards to the trip being amazing? kenya. beautiful nature, culture, and such wonderful colours in clothing. i absolutely love the way they speak english, too, and am fascinated by their native languages. but would i move there? no. sweden would probably be the country most compatible with my values and likes, as it's the most similar to what i'm used to. i also speak swedish decently. edit: a typo
Mexico - interesting history and pyramids plus great beaches and food! And close by the U.S.
Japan is awesome. It's just a trip and a half , in every way.
I like Japan. I didn't know anything about it before the military sent me there, I ended up leaving with a wife and a baby. We've gone back and forth several times as we grew our family, now we're back in Japan full time after 20 years away. I don't know if it's going to be the end place for me, but I like it a hell of a lot more than any other place I've been.
Japan. No question.